What is the
Episcopal Church?
The Episcopal Church is a Christian Church, the American member of
the worldwide Anglican Communion, a descendant of the Church of
England. Christian missionaries planted the Church in England in
the second century and reformed it in the sixth century. In the
sixteenth century, when the English State severed ties with Rome,
the Church received strong influences from the Protestant
Reformation and from the Eastern Orthodox. When English colonists
came to what is now the United States, they brought the Church of
England with them, which eventually became the Episcopal Church.
We are a community who believes that Jesus Christ offers healing to
the suffering, help to the needy, and hope to the oppressed.
There are three basic sources of Episcopal Church beliefs:
Holy Scripture
Reveals God to humankind;
Helps us to know God's will, revealed thought the life, death and
resurrection of Jesus.
Reason (a process which Episcopalians are encouraged to use)
Aids our exploration of God's works;
Helps in making responsible moral decisions together with Scripture
and Tradition.
Tradition
Helps us to interpret Scripture;
Lets us share the lives and stories of early Christians and
believers of every era;
Preserves hymns, prayers and those things that keep our faith
alive.
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